Bearing manufacture



April 24, 1934. v o, PALM 1,956,466

BEARING "MANUFACTURE Original Filed Oct- 1, 1930 50 gig -28 Z0 I618 I. 125 I 25 15!. T9 65 z sq.

INVENTOR.

(fa/g VOPa/m Mai C7 A TTORNEYS Patented Apr. 24, 1934 1,956,466 BEARINGMANUFACTURE John V. O. Palm Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignor to TheCleveland Graphite Bronze Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation ofOhio Application October 1, 1930, Serial No. 485,695 Renewed January 4,1934 11 Claims. (01. 29-1495) This invention, relating, as indicated, tobearing manufacture is more particularly directed to a novel method ofproducing journal bearings, as distinguished from ballv and rollerbearings.

5 Ordinarily, the housings. which receive bearings are castings and thebearing material which may be babbitt is poured against the housing,this processbeing quite costly because of the 'fact that the babbittmust be of considerable thickness; due

'10 to the irregularity of the cast housing surface,

and also because the housings are sometimes of relatively largeproportions, and placing them in a position to line with babbitt is anexpensive and awkward process. The thick layer of bab- 15 bitt in suchbearings of the prior art is also objectionable because babbitt is softand a thick layer is subject to distortion from radial pressure moreeasily than a thin lining of -babbitt backed.

with hard material. v A second well known method, which has supplantedto a large extent the above mentioned pouring method, in the bearingindustry is to line a. thick layer of brass with babbitt, but theresulting bearing is very expensive because of the cost ofthe brass. Ithas been found that steel may be lined with babbitt or bronze, and thatthe thickness of the steel as compared with that of the brass'may bematerially reduced. The resulting bearing is very cheap to produce asfar as the materials are concerned, but the problem is how to unitethese two metals, which have such different properties, so that the costof such union plus the cost of materials is less than the total cost ofa lined housing or a lined. brass backed bearing. I have found thateither bronze, or babbitt, or other suitable bearing material in theform of strips may be united to steel, and that this thickness of thebabbitt or equivalent bearing material may be materially reduced and yetsuch a hearing will outlast a thick, cast bearing, and in the event ofreplacement the cost is only a fraction of what it would be under formerconditions. I I

further and important objection to replacing worn out bearings bycasting is that the process of casting, being carried out in small shopsunder all sorts of conditions, produces a bearing lining the structureof which is' far from uniform as compared to a lining produced in thefactory under controlledconditions, where the bearing has a structure ofjust the desired character.

-- worn the block has to be taken out, all the old babbitt removed, andthen the bearing housing is cast with babbitt. With the use of myimproved thin wall bearings all of this labor is avoided and the cost ofmaterial is less, since part I of the space which was formerly occupiedby babbitt, a very expensive material, is now taken up by steel. Thereference to the use of my hearing in an automobile is only intended asa means of illustration and I do not wish to be limited to the use of myimproved bearing in 69 automobiles.

In this particular instance, I have aimed to provide a means of coatinga strip of steel with tin and of superposing a layer of babbitt on theupper tinned surface of the steel, this babbitt layer 70 being pouredinsuch a manner that no additional mechanical means are necessary topress or to form a composite strip. In other words, the object of thisinvention is to avoid the cost of pressing a bearing lining materialupon a bearing backing material. It will be noted that I have used theterms steel, babbitt and tin, but obviously other metals having the samechar-, acteristics may be substituted where suchsubstitution is desired.For instance, bronze may be 90 substituted for babbitt where theparticular needs of the job permit the use of bronze.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention,then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claims; the annexed drawing and the followingdescription setting forth in detail one method, one product and certainmechanism exemplifying my invention, such disclosed mechanism, procedureand prodnot constituting, however, but one of various applications ofthe principle of y invention.

In said annexed drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section with parts in eleva tion; and Fig. 2 is aplan view taken' from above of the pouring gate shown in Fig. 1. 1

Referring now to Fig. 1, a strip of steel 1 is shown being fed into areceptacle 10. The strip 1 may be scarified or otherwise treated toinsure bonding of the tin thereto, but ordinarily such a 160 step is notnecessary. This strip is lead over an idle roller 12 and passes downinto the bath of tin 11 where it is engaged by another roller 23, thisroller being immersed in the tin, which forces the strip downwardly to adepth at which the upper 103 surface will obtain a uniform regulatedcoating of tin. A pair of wipers are shown between immersion roller 23and idler roller 13 and these wipers comprise holders 4 and 5 which gripfelts 6 and '7 respectively, the function of the wipers being to smoothoff the tin coating and remove any excess. The angle between theimmersion roller 23 and the two idle rollers 12 and 13 will be.

noted to be rather sharp for an apparatus for the treatment of stripmetal, but the drawing must necessarily be restricted and the disclosureillustrates the principle of the invention only. In actual practice Ihave obtained better results by increasing the angle between the threerollers, as an increase of angle allows the upper surface of the steelstrip 1 to obtain more tin proportionately. The strip 1 with its coating2 is then lead over the idle roller 13 which may cause some of the tinon the under surface to be removed, but this is immaterial in view ofthe fact that the babbitt is bonded to the upper surface. However, aminute layer still clingsto the under surface and this is very desirableas such a layer effectively prevents the formation of rust which formsvery quickly when the steel is heated to high temperatures. Closelyadjacent the tin bath a heat chamber 14 is provided having an inlet 25through which the strip passes. Located intermediately of the heatchamber a pouring gate will be seen, this gate consisting of a verticalthroat 19, transverse vertical portions 16 and 35 and longitudinalvertical sides 20 and 21. The vertical throat portion 19 of thepartition 35 gradually merges into a horizontal surface forming a sizingopening 29 in conjunction with the lower portion 15 of the pouring gate,the said portion 15 having down turned edges 8 and 9 so as to offer theleast resistance to passage of the strip t-hereover. Situated directlyabove the throat 19, a ladle 1'7 is shown, which swings about an axis 50and from which a charge of molten babbitt 18 will be seen to passdownwardly into the pouring throat. This ladle may be fed through anopening (not shown) in the upper horizontal portion 30 of the heatchamber 14, or the ladle may have an extending horizontal neck so thatit may be fed from the outer vertical side. The contour of the interiorof the pouring gate, that is, the curved portion from 19 to 29,cooperates with the passage of the strip to compact the molten babbittinto a uniform even layer, and the size of' this layer may be regulatedby adjusting the partition 35 either upwardly or downwardly, suchpositioning being effected by means of the adjusting screw 22 which isfixed to the partition 35 and is screw-threadedly engaged in the crossarm 51. The partition 35 is locked in the desired position by means of alock nut which prevents rotation of the screw threaded shaft 22 andconsequent movement of the partition 35. The shaft 22 is surmounted by ahand wheel 36 so as to enable easy adjustment of the sizing opening. Theentire adjustment mechanism and the partition 35 are carried by thecross arm 51 which, in turn, is supported by standards resting upon thesides 20 and 21, the said standards being held in place by bolts 37 and38. The shoulders, one of which is shown at 39, on the ends of thepartition 35 maintain the partition in one vertical plane, by

engaging the slots 52, and thus the sizing opening at 29 is always kepttruly horizontal. These shoulders extend from the top downwardly abouthalf way, and the same is true of the slots 52, this constructionpermitting adjustmentthrough a wide range, but avoiding the possibilityof loss of babbitt, such as would occur if the shoulders and slots werefull length.

The method of forming bearings according to my invention is as follows:

A strip of steel is fed into a tin bath where a pair of wipers mayremove excess tin from both surfaces and smooth off the tin upon theupper surface. The strip is then lead into a heat chamber within which apouring gate is provided. As the strip passes through the pouring gatemolten metal is deposited thereon in such a mannerthat a compact layerof this metal results, due to the peculiar construction of the pouringgate. The strip is then lead out of the heat chamber, blanked to thedesired size and formed into either whole or half round bearings.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided anovel means for making bearings which is both economical and superior toprior means. It will be especially noted that the necessity for pressinglayers of a compositestrip is dispensed with, and that a layer ofbearing metal is integrally united to a layer of steel by merely pouringsaid bearing metal upon the steel. As additional advantages, it will beseen that, in the event of replacement, the cost of removing the 01dbabbitt is avoided, and that the composite bearing can he slipped intoplace quickly and easily, without turning the housing. As a further andimportant advantage my invention will be seen to provide a continuousprocess resulting in a much better bond because no time is lost intransferring from the tinning operation to the babbitting operation. Inthe present day practice there is a time interval between those twooperations, during which it is almost impossible to prevent oxidation ofthe tin. My process is free from this objection, and also thepossibility of the tin setting up and hardening beyond workable limits.

Other forms may be employed embodying the features of my inventioninstead of the one here explained, change being made in the form ofconstruction, provided the elements stated by any of the followingclaims or the equivalent of such stated elements be employed, whetherproduced by my preferred method or by others embodying steps equivalentto those stated in the following claims.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as myinvention:-

1. In a method of manufacturing bearings, the steps which consist intinning a strip of steel, introducing said strip into a heat chamber,pouring a layer of bearing metal upon the tinned surface of said steel,removing the resulting composite strip from said heat chamber, and thenblanking and forming said last named strip into bearings.

2. In a method of manufacturing bearings, the steps which consist inimmersing a strip of high melting point hard metal-in a bath of tin,introducing said strip into a heat chamber, pouring a layer of bearingmetal upon said strip, removing the resulting composite strip and thenblanking and forming said composite strip into bearings.

3. In a method of manufacturing bearings, the

steps which consist in tinning a strip of steel, in-

said heat chamber, and then blanking and forming said last named stripinto bearings.

4. In a method of manufacturing bearings, the steps which consist intinning a strip of steel, in-

troducing said strip into a heat chamber, depositing molten bearingmetal upon said strip, moving said strip through an opening, saidopening being gradually restricted to form a compact layer of saidbearing metal of uniform thickness, removing the resulting compositestrip from the heat chamber and then blanking and forming said blanksinto bearings.

5. In a method of manufacturing bearings, the steps which consist intinning a strip of steel, introducing said strip into a heat chamber,depositing molten bearing metal upon said strip, restricttain thetemperature of the steel approximately constant, pouring a layer ofbearing metal upon the tinned surface of such steel, removing theresulting composite strip from said chamber, and then blanking andforming such last-named strip into bearings.

7. In a method of manufacturing bearings, the steps which consist inpassing a strip of steel through a heating chamber adapted to bring thetemperature of said strip to that required for bonding thereto a coatingof bearing'metal, passing said heated strip through a shallow pool ofmolten bearing metal, removing the resulting composite strip from saidpool, and then blanking and forming said last-named strip into bearmgs.

8. In a method of manufacturing bearings, the steps which consist inintroducing a heated strip of tinned steel into a chamber containing ashallow pool of molten bearing metal capable of maintaining a constanttemperature range in said strip, pouring a layer of bearing metal uponthe tinned surface of such steel while in said chamher, removing theresulting composite strip from said chamber and then blanking andforming such lastnamed strip into bearings.

9'. In a method of manufacturing bearings, the steps which consist inintroducing a strip .of prepared steel into a chamber containing areservoir of molten bearing metal suflicient in amount to maintain saidstrip within a constant temperature range while passing therethrough,and sup- -plying molten bearing metal to said reservoir at a rate atleast equal to the removal of bearing metal therefrom on the surface ofsaid steel, removing the resulting composite strip from said chamber andthen blanking and forming said last-named strip into bearings.

l0.- In a method of manufacturing bearings, the

steps which consist in passing a heated strip of tinned steel through ashallow reservoir of molten bearing metal adapted to maintain a constanttemperature range in said strip, removing the resulting composite stripfrom said reservoir and simultaneously graduating the thickness of thecoating of bearingmetal adhering thereto, and then blanking and formingsuch last-named strip into bearings. D

11. In a method of manufacturing bearings,- the steps which consist inheating a strip of steel to a temperature suflicient to permit bondingof a bearing metal thereto, simultaneously passing said heated stripthrough a shallow pool of molten bearing metal, graduating the thicknessof the layer of bearing metal adhering to the surface of said strip,removing the resulting composite strip from said chamber and thenblanking and forming said composite strip into bearings.

, JOHN V. O. PALM.

